A Cross-National Examination of Knowledge, Policy, and Practice in Learning to Teach: Part I

Session Type: WERA Symposium

Abstract

This is the third in a series of symposia examining the question of how teachers learn to teach effectively. We study the evolution of educational policy and research on effective approaches to initial teacher learning with careful attention to context, bringing together historical, theoretical, and empirical work. For close to two-years we have been developing a conceptual framework and a system of data collection to inform our question across a diverse number of countries and areas of teaching knowledge. Preliminary findings indicate that approaches to teacher education are influenced by a variety of research traditions which are not always consistent and sometimes are at odds with national policy with varied results for the intellectual capacity, and future work of teachers.

Sub Unit

• World Education Research Association

Chair

• Maria Teresa Tatto, Michigan State University

Papers

• Learning to Teach in the United Kingdom and the United States: Reviewing Policy and Research Trends - Ian Menter, University of Oxford; Maria Teresa Tatto, Michigan State University

• How Do Teachers Learn to Teach in Ireland? A Review of Policy and Research Literature - Paul F. Conway, University of Limerick

• Trajectory of Teacher Education in South Korea: A Review of Policy and Research - James Pippin, Michigan State University; Eunjung Jin, Michigan State University

• Major Teacher Reforms in Japan - Gerald K. LeTendre, The Pennsylvania State University

Discussant

• Geoff Whitty, The University of Newcastle